EPISD counselor, whistleblower Patricia Scott recognized by FBI

EPISD guidance counselor Patricia Scott is congratulated Tuesday by members of the El Paso Independent School District Board of Managers Ed Archuleta, Blanca Enriquez and Dee Margo after getting the FBI's Community Leadership Award.

When she decided to move to Jefferson High School four years ago, guidance counselor Patricia Scott was not sure she would have a job for long at El Paso Independent School District.

The previous year she raised concerns of possible cheating at Bowie High School after finding 77 student transcripts that were altered at her former school. Instead of getting support from administrators, she received her first negative evaluation after more than two decades at the district.

"It was a lot of tears. It was a lot of bad times," said Scott's mother, Carmen. "It affected us as a family."

On Tuesday night Scott stood smiling next to the district's board of managers, superintendent Juan Cabrera and FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas Lindquist as she was named recipient of the FBI Community Leadership Award, which recognizes individuals who have made contributions to the agency's investigations.

It's possible that without Scott coming forward, the cheating implemented at EPISD under former superintendent Lorenzo Garcia would not have been uncovered, officials said.

"She stepped up and tried to do the right thing against mounting odds and continued with moral courage to go forward," said Lindquist, before announcing Scott's name to a standing ovation in the EPISD board room.

After discovering the student transcript alterations in a 2009 review of student records, she was rebuffed by supervisors at Bowie. But she persisted on the issue, turning over the transcripts that October to then director of guidance services Kathleen Ortega.

The transcripts sat in a desk drawer for another seven months until Scott raised her concerns again with Garcia himself. The district initiated an internal audit based on her allegations but nearly a year would pass before it was finalized while administrators continued to deny any wrongdoing.

The transcripts of the 77 students showed their grades and classifications were manipulated by administrators as part of a scheme by Garcia to boost the district's performance on federal accountability measures by preventing low performing students from taking the tenth grade TAKS test.

The cheating scheme was eventually implemented at a number of other El Paso High Schools that the independent Weaver audit said had essentially become "diploma mills." The audit into Scott's allegations and the transcripts became key evidence in a federal case against Garcia on fraud charges in 2011 that led to a three and a half year prison sentence.

Lindquist said Tuesday night that an investigation into wrongdoing by others at the district is still ongoing.

Scott said she is confident that justice will eventually come for Garcia's lieutenants who were also responsible for the cheating scheme and a culture of corruption at the top levels of EPISD.

"We are definitely in a different place," she said of the district.

While she was under pressure from the administration over her decision to essentially become a whistleblower, Scott said she relied heavily on her mother and the principal who hired her at Jefferson, Steven Lane.

Lane, who drove from Las Cruces to see Scott receive her recognition, said she was being attacked from all angles when he hired her. He was eventually pushed out of the district himself for his efforts to oppose Garcia.

While her transfer provided some reprieve from administrative pressure, Lane said it did not end there. He said he was told himself to write her up for minor issues, presumably to make it easier to fire her.

"She's a hero to me. I know she's a hero to a lot of the employees at Bowie and Jefferson and a lot of the students and employees district-wide," he said. "She stood up against a sea of corruption. Because of her, this district is a better place."

The installation of the board of managers this spring and, in September, a new superintendent have added a new public face at EPISD. But the recognition of Scott at Tuesday night's board meeting showed a new value placed, at least publicly, on the work of those teachers and administrators who took risks to oppose corruption at the district.

Cabrera said Scott's actions should be a model for other employees who see or witness wrongdoing.

"It takes courage to do what she did and I applaud her for her efforts," he said. "It's a new day at EPISD and as we lead with character and ethics. I encourage all of our employees who see impropriety, illegal or unethical activities occurring in our school district to please speak up."

With television cameras trained on her outside the board meeting, Scott was reluctant to agree that she was a hero for her role in exposing the cheating scheme. She was reluctant even to attend the meeting to receive an employee of the month award - the pretext on which administrators got her to show up for the surprise announcement.

"This is not my cup of tea," she said of the extra attention at the board meeting. "I'd just rather be at home. I'd rather be at work doing what I need to do."

Scott credited FBI investigators and other district employees for helping to end the cheating under Garcia. And she thanked Lane and her family for making sure she did not give up.

"I followed the wise rule of my mom - keep your head up high," she said.

Andrew Kreighbaum covers El Paso Independent School District. He may be reached at 546-6127.

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